aquamaxx ConeS CO 1 skimmer review

[reeftivo]

I posted a short (crummy) video on one of the first few pages of the thread. It was not broken in yet but off to a great start. I have no comparison videos unfortunately but it's a truly plug and play skimmer. Run it at 9.5 inches and adjust the internal air/water line an inch below the cup collar, then relax and watch it skim.

The column height of the bubbles is much shorter than on most of my other skimmers, so one would think there's no way it would have enough contact time to adequately skim but it does. And it does it very, very well!

 

[Jone]

Going to pull the trigger and buy the CO-1 right after Xmas..Thanks for all the good reviews..

 

[serenity]

Bought a CO-3 for my tank, waiting for the stand to be built so should only be another week or so before I have water, wish I could say how great it works but I can say the craftsmanship is outstanding!!

 

[reeftivo]

Oooo! CO 3--nice!!!! I love all the anticipation and excitement of a new set up! Hopefully you get more goodies from Santa!!! Post some pics when its up and running.

Gearing up here for xmas eve and hope everyone has a great holiday

Ho Ho Ho

Tivo

 

[unze]

I am seriously on the fence about buying one of these. They look really nice and i have heard nothing but good reviews so far. Keep info coming. Have there been any comparison vids done between this and other skimmers?

Its a no brainer, you will not be disappointed in these skimmers, i have used over 20 brands and can tell you that these are great skimmers, they even skimmed better than my Large Deltec TC3070 skimmer.
The aquamaxx/jns are well designed skimmers and the price is no bad either.

 

[zoosalert]

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here's a photo of mine running in about 9.3" of depth in the sump. Only grouse is the make of the collection cup.(wished it was designed more like conventional skimmers, so that cleaning would've been easier)

And a question, do you guys ever adjust the air intake valve(the one with the long black plastic bolt).
Somehow I find it very difficult to find the sweet spot :/

 

[reeftivo]

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here's a photo of mine running in about 9.3" of depth in the sump. Only grouse is the make of the collection cup.(wished it was designed more like conventional skimmers, so that cleaning would've been easier)

And a question, do you guys ever adjust the air intake valve(the one with the long black plastic bolt).
Somehow I find it very difficult to find the sweet spot :/

Merry Xmas to you too

I agree with you about the cup being a tricky little bugger to clean if you don't have the best brush options. I use a small soft bottle brush and a larger brush that came with my ATB skimmer which works nicely to quickly clean the cup.

Regarding the air adjustment;
The long black bolt on the silencer is only used to fasten the assembly to the skimmer flange so if you loosen or tighten the bolt you won't see any difference in air intake. I don't see than being necessary but if you want to be able to adjust the air you could find an extra piece silicone tubing and attach it to the top plastic nipple with a micro valve. In all honesty you shouldn't really need to tweak the air but it's ultimately up to the user.

thumbsup:

 

[reeftivo]

Ahaa!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I didn't see your picture right away and commented before looking

Your silencer took on some water

That will effect the air intake a bit if the level inside the silencer is close to the hard tubing.
Since most everything (hardware stores) is closed today you may want to see if you have some spare thin o- rings laying around. I run my co1 above the flange so mine was taking on a little water too so I put a thin o ring in the groove where the silencer body sits and tightened the long screw which worked perfectly.

Oh, also put a little bit of Teflon tape at the end of the bolt as well ( see page 2 post #34 of this thread). The o-ring and little bit of Teflon tape seals the silencer perfectly..

 

[plainrt82]

I really wanted one of these but only have 8.5 in my sump. These won't work that low or ?

 

[reeftivo]

Oh, they'll work but you will have a more limited range of adjustment since you will most likely need to close the output standpipe quite a bit to get the foam head where you need it.
Post a pic of your sump. Maybe there are some options.??

 

[plainrt82]

Hmmm maybe I can silicone piece of glass to baffle to raise water level if needed.

 

[reeftivo]

I would suggest a 1 or 2" wide piece of acrylic. Much easier to work with when you're dealing with smaller pieces. ??

 

[plainrt82]

ok i might try that.I heard people say silicone doesnt stick well to acrylic and glass but i would think would be ok for this.Does our skimmer skim on and off alot being on small tank like yours? This would be on a 30+20 gal sump and i tend to stock pretty heavy.

 

[bowfront]

I would suggest a 1 or 2" wide piece of acrylic. Much easier to work with when you're dealing with smaller pieces. ??

That's right on. I have always used acrylic to glass in all my DIY sumps and never had any problems. I actually tried to remove the acrylic baffles in an old well used sump not long ago and spent a lot of time and effort to do it.

 

[reeftivo]

ok i might try that.I heard people say silicone doesnt stick well to acrylic and glass but i would think would be ok for this.Does our skimmer skim on and off alot being on small tank like yours? This would be on a 30+20 gal sump and i tend to stock pretty heavy.

Mine doesn't idle like you think it would on a smaller system. I've always got a thick foam head with foam holding just outside the opening of the slanted neck and lid. When nutrient levels rise like after feedings or nearing water change schedules, the foam production increases substantially and foam will noticeably flow down the length of the cup. It will work nicely on a 50 gal system:thumbsup:

 

[reeftivo]

Lol
Oops double post

 

[zoosalert]

Ahaa!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I didn't see your picture right away and commented before looking

Your silencer took on some water

That will effect the air intake a bit if the level inside the silencer is close to the hard tubing.
Since most everything (hardware stores) is closed today you may want to see if you have some spare thin o- rings laying around. I run my co1 above the flange so mine was taking on a little water too so I put a thin o ring in the groove where the silencer body sits and tightened the long screw which worked perfectly.

Oh, also put a little bit of Teflon tape at the end of the bolt as well ( see page 2 post #34 of this thread). The o-ring and little bit of Teflon tape seals the silencer perfectly..

Here's a clearer image of the water level.



Its currently at 9.3" as mentioned, hanging around the flange.
End result is a bubbling noise(due to the interaction between the air from the hard tubing and the water surface) which almost cannot be heard after closing the cabinet door.

Indeed, the skimmate is a dark green colour and full of froth(which I will post another time.camera's battery been out and charging)

Trying out dry skimming after a week of wet skimmate and battling cyano..I think this would be better at removing organics..

 

[reeftivo]

Here's a clearer image of the water level.



Its currently at 9.3" as mentioned, hanging around the flange.
End result is a bubbling noise(due to the interaction between the air from the hard tubing and the water surface) which almost cannot be heard after closing the cabinet door.

Indeed, the skimmate is a dark green colour and full of froth(which I will post another time.camera's battery been out and charging)


Trying out dry skimming after a week of wet skimmate and battling cyano..I think this would be better at removing organics..

Looks good. I would suggest the o ring and a touch of Teflon tape at the end of the plastic screw. That will dry out the silencer tube and eliminate the gurgling.

If left alone, the skimmate will progressively get better.

Happy reefing and have a safe New Years.

 

[chgoblknazn]

Any updates? I got my CO-1 today and it is sitting at my feet at work. It's going to get cleaned

 

[reeftivo]

Sorry for the late reply

The only update would be the skimmer still works flawlessly.

I'll post a pic of the skim in a minute